Chop, Chop

Sushi is a wonderful thing. No, seriously. It's delicious. And it's not bad for you like so many popular foods. (While there is, of course, a risk of foodborne illness due to the raw nature of some of the ingredients, the vast majority of sushi restaurants are extremely careful about the way they prepare such items.) And while I love going out for a nice meal at a sushi bar, it is not always possible for me to do so, especially ever since my sushi buddy moved away. Sometimes, I am forced to eat my avocado rolls in the comfort of my own home. But, you know, eating sushi with a fork just isn't at all glamorous or even particularly practical.

Last summer, I had an awful lot of free time on my hands. So one day, I decided to go around town looking for packages of single-use chopsticks, like the kind you get at a Chinese restaurant, so I could have a better at-home sushi experience. No dice. I went to five or six stores; no one had them, not even  the ever-trustworthy Gordon Food Service down the road. That's when I started searching online. And I found this totally fantastic website called Mrs. Lin's Kitchen. Mrs. Lin, whoever she is, sells some pretty cool things. Among other items, you can find Asian tea sets, home decor, and--drumroll--a very fine selection of chopsticks. 

I bought a pair for myself, a very pretty rosewood set that has since been damaged (totally my fault) and can't for the life of me find on the website. If I am lucky, I will be able to repair them. If not, I will have to choose a new set. But with so many options, I feel confident that I can find another pair to suit my tastes.

Check out Mrs. Lin's selection of chopsticks and tell me which ones are your favorites!

-Cate-

PS I recently had a birthday, and thought I should give my small but dedicated readership an update on some previous posts, given some of my presents!

1) About two weeks ago, I discussed the iPod Nano from Apple. My brother, sister-in-law, aunt, and grandmother were awesome enough to chip in together to get me the pink one, and it is super-cute and fun!

2) In my second post ever, I bemoaned the discontinuation of my Corelle pattern, Scandia White. When my mother heard about this, she immediately snapped into Action Mom mode and found two of the serving pieces for me! Although I'm still upset that I don't have the Scandia White salt and pepper shakers, I am terribly thrilled to have these new dishes!